Top Mariners pitching prospect Taijuan Walker moves to Triple-A

It took Taijuan Walker only 6.2 innings to strike out a career-high 12 hitters Thursday night in Jackson, Tenn., for the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate Generals.

However, those will likely go down as his last innings for the club, as the Mariners’ top pitching prospect heads to Triple-A to join the Tacoma Rainiers, the Generals announced Wednesday.

Widely regarded as a top-five prospect in all of baseball, 20-year-old Walker now is just one step away from the big leagues after being drafted in 2010 by the Mariners.

With the Generals, Walker went 4-7 with a 2.46 ERA while fanning 96 batters in 84 innings this season. Walker will make his Rainiers debut next Tuesday against Fresno in Tacoma, the Generals said on Twitter.

Walker joins fellow top pitching prospect Danny Hultzen in Tacoma, though Hultzen has been sidelined with a left rotator cuff strain since late April.

#Mariners announce that Taijuan Walker has been promoted from AA Jackson to AAA Tacoma. Scheduled to make his AAA debut Tuesday vs. Fresno.